This offroad stuff is new to me..

[Xceler8x]

I just bought my X yesterday. I posted a new users thread so I won't go into it.

I will say this tho..after working on hot rod stuff and motorcycles for so long this off-road mentality is taking some getting used to. For example, with fast cars and bikes you think like Colin Chapman "Simplicate and add lightness." But with these trucks it's like you can't put enough heavy stuff on'em! I see light bars, on board air, nerf bars, cow catchers bought for $20 (er..excuse me..push bars/grille guards) , bigger tires, winchs, small artillery, **** screens....

you get my drift here.

I'm just amazed. It's great. I can actually start loading all the stuff I *want* in the car instead of thinking "Is this amp going to add to my 60 ft times?"

I'll post my tech question in the drivelines thread.

 

[AspenX]

If you want to learn about offroading your X this is the place to do it. Oh, and nerf bars are useless. We use heavy duty rock sliders.

 

[Positive Vibes]

Welcome to the board! I see the off road bug got ya. Careful it gets addictive.

 

[Sallad420]

I see the off road bug got ya. Careful it gets addictive.

I just wanted to say welcome here as well. It's a great place to learn and read up on X's.

Just one note on what Vibes said, it is addicive and EXPENSIVE when things break, and they will break.

 

[Blee1099]

Welcome to the site.. Alot of members from Virginia head out to the GWNF.

 

[unclemeat]

There is a GWNF run being orginized for sometime in the next few months.

It is also expensive because all that extra weight equals stuff that you may need on the trail so you have to buy it just in case.

 

[Xceler8x]

Thanks for the welcome guys! This place is friendly.

I will keep my eye on the GWNF run. My bro has a 95 YJ and has run GWNF with Nova Jeepers. I'll ask him about it and get back to ya. He's in FLA now or he'd prolly go with us.

Afraid to say my off-road experience consists entirely of beach runs in the Outer Banks. I have no frame of reference when it comes to trail or mud. That begs the question..how rough are the trails in the GWNF? Are they rutted dirt road rough or boulder strewn loose gravel hill rough?

 

[unclemeat]

Most of the trails in the GWNF are passable with a stock explorer. Some require offroad driving experience, but that is the exception. There is not a lot of mud, but ther are holes that can swallow a stock X. Mostly rock and gravel roads (rutted) cut by the civilian corps during the depression or loggers. You don't need 4x4 to pass the roads, I usually use 4x4 low for traction and to save brakes. There a bunch of trip reports on the off camber crawler web sit, sorry I dont have the exact link. It also a great place to camp. There are some good water falls.

 

[glfredrick]

Welcome to the boards...

I wanted to return to your earlier statement about just adding stuff to the off-road vehicle.

Weight DOES matter - and the lighter the better - same as in any other game with vehicles.

Off road guys (and girls!) tend to accumulate equipment and add-on's to their rigs until they need double the suspension capacity just to hold the truck up while off-roading. They also tend to get their rigs top heavy - which really sucks on hills and off camber stuff. It was sort of amusing to see JGarrett (board moderator) pulling all the stuff off his roof rack in preparation for a trail run in Moab - but at least he well knew the issues involved with having a high center of gravity out there! (Hi Gearld!)

Tire size also matters - and the ideal is to get all the traction you can. There are several real-world variables that tend to throw out the pure physics of the tire size issue - but you still need to get as many pounds per square inch onto that tire patch - and the larger it is - the less pounds per square inch will be pressing into the ground at that point. I have seen rigs that were "over tired" and all they did was spin on every difficult obstacle. Someone a balance needs to be struck between ground clearence (height) and floation (width) and contact pressure (weight).

There is one other factor - and that is intended trails... The more hard core guys weld heavy wall DOM tubing almost everywhere - and re-manufacture our suspension links out of the same stuff. Why? Becasue God forgives - but rocks don't... The heavy built stuff is there to keep the truck together in the most absurd areas - not just to look good - though there is a whole crowd that goes that route as well. Most of the stuff you see for sale in Pep Boys, etc., is lightweight and merely adds places for nature to hang you up or bend... So, take into account what you would like your truck to look like when it returns from a trail and build accordingly.

The really cool thing about the automotive hobby in its entirety is that there is room for individualism - wide ranging ideas - styles - types of vehicles, etc. play into the overall sport - and there is room for everyone... I still have a lot of drag racer in me (I built several nice Chevelle's) and I still want to go back SCORE off-road racing in northern Wisconsin (Class 8s - American pure stock CAR - think NASCAR on dirt with 16" of suspension and 600 HP), but for now, I just wheel my Ranger on rocks and my Explorer on trails...

Happy trails to you [he sings in his imiation cowboy voice]

 

[410Fortune]

adding heavy things to an offroader is not good either, if you ask me the lighter the better.
If you do add weight keep it down as low as possible.

welcome